Department for Transport

SS Richard Montgomery

lord harris of haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the risks posed by the wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery.

lord harris of haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government which department has ownership of the risks posed by the wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery; and which department or agency is responsible for the surveillance of that wreck.

lord harris of haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the estimated volume of bombs and high explosives that remain unsalvaged on the SS Richard Montgomery.

baroness sugg: The Department for Transport (DfT) is responsible for the long-term management of the wreck, but works closely with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) to monitor its condition.The management of the SS Richard Montgomery is a key priority for DfT. The MCA undertakes regular surveys of the wreck to monitor its condition and inform management policy. The regular survey reports of the SSRM are available on the Government’s website. These include an assessment of the wreck’s condition, and note that approximately 1400 tons (Net Explosive Quantity) of munitions remain in the forward section of the wreck. The next survey report will be published later this year.

SS Richard Montgomery

lord harris of haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the resident population within a (1) 2.5kilometre, and(2) 5 kilometre radius of the wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery; and how close the petrochemical installations at the Isle of Grain are to that wreck.

baroness sugg: Given the wreck’s distance offshore, (1) a radius of 2.5km from the wreck does not encompass any populated areas. (2) While exact population figures are not available at this scale, a radius of 5km from the wreck would encompass areas of population of the Isle of Sheppey and the Isle of Grain. The LNG terminal on the Isle of Grain is approximately 6.5km from the wreck.

SS Richard Montgomery

lord harris of haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what advicethey have provided to the relevant local resilience forum or forums about the wreck of SS Richard Montgomery.

baroness sugg: The government has previously engaged with local resilience forums (LRFs) in Kent and Essex and has provided them with updates on survey results and the condition of the wreck. We will continue to engage with the relevant LRFs on the future management plan for the SSRM including updating them on survey results and condition.

Leader of the House of Lords

Closure Motions

lord brabazon of tara: To ask the Leader of the House how many times the closure motion has been moved in the House of Lords in the last 20 years; and on what dates.

baroness evans of bowes park: In the last 20 years the closure motion has been moved in the House of Lords 13 times: on 22 July 1999; 6 October 2003; 17 January 2011; 19 January 2011; 21 October 2011; 31 January 2014; 15 March 2019; and six times on 4 April 2019.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Zimbabwe: Pensions

lord goodlad: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in discussions with the government of Zimbabwe on the payment of pensions arrears owed to former Crown Overseas Servants.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We regularly press the government of Zimbabwe on the importance of fulfilling their responsibilities to all those who are entitled to a Zimbabwe government pension. In 2016, we secured written agreement from the Government of Zimbabwe that payments would resume when the economic situation allows. This issue remains a key strand of the Government's dialogue with the government of Zimbabwe. We will raise it again in the near future.

Attorney General

Lord Janner of Braunstone

lord campbell-savours: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Crown Prosecution Service were first made aware of the omission in the report by Sir Richard Henriques, An Independent Review of the Metropolitan Police Service's handling of non-recent sexual offence investigations alleged against persons of public prominence, published on 19 January 2016, to refer to exculpatory unused material in relation to criminal offences, accusations, references to known persons with criminal records and other material held in Government records which might affect decisions in the case of Lord Janner of Braunstone.

lord keen of elie: In 2015 the then Director of Public Prosecutions commissioned Sir Richard Henriques to conduct an Independent Inquiry into allegations made against Lord Greville Janner, which was published on 19 January 2016. Sir Richard was asked to conduct a thorough and independent review into the approach and decision making of the CPS in relation to past investigations by Leicestershire Police which concluded in 1991, 2002 and 2007. He made a number of recommendations with regard to CPS procedures and guidance. This inquiry was separate to and independent of the prosecution of Lord Janner which concluded in March 2016. As to the Independent Review of the Metropolitan Police Service's handling of non-recent sexual offence investigations in 2016, I refer the noble Lord to my previous answer [HL14520].

Department for Education

Pre-school Education: Career Development

the earl of listowel: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to enhance opportunities for development and career progression for those employed in the early years education sector.

lord agnew of oulton: In March 2017, we published the attached early years workforce strategy which outlined the government's plans to support employers to attract, retain and develop early years staff to deliver high quality provision: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-workforce-strategy. As a result of the strategy we have worked with sector stakeholders to develop criteria for new, more robust level 2 qualifications (to be delivered from September 2019), as well as developing new career pathways information to support careers advice, recruitment and staff development. The career progression map is attached and can be found at: https://www.cache.org.uk/media/1417/dfe-career-pathway-map-v17.pdf. Supported by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, a trailblazer group of employers has just completed a new level 3 apprenticeship standard and another is developing apprenticeships at levels 5 and 6 to provide progression. We remain committed to ensuring there are routes to graduate level qualifications for the early years sector and we support graduates into the sector through our funding of the early years initial teacher training programme, including bursaries and employer incentives. We are also supporting the workforce through an early years professional development programme, which is a £20 million investment in training for the pre-reception early years workforce, to raise quality in settings, targeted to benefit disadvantaged children.



HL15036_Early_Years_Workforce_Strategy
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HL15036_Early_Years_Career_Progression_Map
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Pre-school Education: Qualifications

the earl of listowel: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many early years professionals with a relevant graduate qualification were working in early years education in (1) 2015, (2) 2016, (3) 2017, and (4) 2018.

the earl of listowel: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of those leading early years groups had a relevant graduate qualification in (1) 2015, (2) 2016, (3) 2017, and (4) 2018.

lord agnew of oulton: Data on the number of graduates in the workforce is collected and published every 2 years as part of the ‘Childcare and early years providers survey’. In the period requested we have data for 2016 and 2018:Childcare and early years providers survey: 2018, table 15 and attached: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2018. Childcare and early years providers survey: 2016, table 10 and attached: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2016.



HL15037_HL15038_Table_15_Childcare_survey
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HL15037_HL15038_Table_10_Childcare_survey
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Ministry of Justice

Legal Aid Scheme: Housing

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have madeof the availability of legal aid and advice in housing law cases; and what is the geographical distribution of the providers of such services in (1) London, (2) the rest of England, and (3) Wales.

lord keen of elie: Legal aid for housing advice is available to help people with a range of housing problems, subject to statutory means and merits tests. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision around the country, and moves quickly to ensure provision where gaps may appear. As of 1 March there is at least one provider offering housing and debt services in all but 4 procurement areas, representing over 97% coverage across England and Wales. The Legal Aid Agency has since undertaken a further tender to secure provision in the remaining areas. Irrespective of location in England and Wales, legal advice for housing remains available through a telephone service as well. The following table shows the number of providers operating in each of the locations enquired about, and the number of procurement areas which fall within each. The LAA monitors access to legal aid-funded services by geographic location using ‘Procurement Areas’. These are boundaries defined by the LAA according to the respective categories of law they cover. Geographical location# of Procurement Areas# of ProvidersLondon30235Wales835Other96212

Community Rehabilitation Companies

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, following the recent Report of the Chief Inspector of Probation, published on 28 March, they intend to continue to create more Community Rehabilitation Companies.

lord keen of elie: There are no plans to create more Community Rehabilitation Companies. In our consultation, Strengthening Probation, Building Confidence, we set out plans to move from 21 probation areas to 11. We will set out our response to the consultation later this year.

Probation

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to complete their review of probation services; and what form the output of this review will take.

lord keen of elie: We are currently finalising our proposals for the future of the probation service. We will publish a formal response to the consultation Strengthening Probation, Building Confidence later this year.

Ministry of Defence

RAF Menwith Hill: Unmanned Air Vehicles

lord judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that UK personnel at Royal Air Force Menwith Hill are not directly or indirectly involved in drone activation including of Ghost Hunter, Ghost Wolf and other surveillance tools operated by United States service personnel.

earl howe: In accordance with long standing policy we do not comment on the details of the activities carried out at RAF Menwith Hill in providing intelligence support.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Agriculture

baroness miller of chilthorne domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessmentthey havemade ofthe report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation The future of food and agriculture—Alternative pathways to 2050, published on 4 October 2018; and what assessment they have made of which elements ofthat report apply to UK agriculture.

lord gardiner of kimble: Defra has not specifically made an assessment of the report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation: ‘The future of food and agriculture – alternative pathways to 2050’. However, the issues addressed in this report are a priority for Defra. Defra Group’s Strategy sets out our ambition for the UK to be a world-leading food, farming and fishing nation; that we will grow more, sell more, and export more food around the world. It also sets out our ambition is to be the first generation to leave the natural environment of England in a better state than that in which we found it. We are committed to changing UK farming for the better as we leave the EU. The Agriculture Bill will help farmers in England to grow high quality food in a more sustainable way, enhancing the environment for future generations. Defra Research and Development (R&D) also seeks to develop our knowledge in these areas, including research on sustainable intensification, through which farming systems can maintain or increase outputs while enhancing environmental and societal benefits; and breeding to improve the productivity, sustainability and resilience of food production, through our Genetic Improvement Networks. Together with existing R&D, new cross-cutting measures for innovation, being developed alongside the Agriculture Bill will balance the needs to increase productivity and promote environmental benefit, enabling long term resilience and sustainability.

Pollinators

baroness miller of chilthorne domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the research conducted by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in their reportWidespread losses of pollinating insects in Britain, published on 26 March, in particular its finding that bee and hoverfly species have declined; and what assessment they have made of (1) the spread of losses of such species across the UK, and (2) the impact of such losses.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Government has worked closely with the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) over a number of years on the development of the UK indicator of pollinator trends, which we publish annually. This indicator uses much of the same data as in the CEH paper and shows similar trends. It shows many bee and hoverfly species have become less widespread since 1980, leading to an overall, long-term decline, although some species have become more prevalent. It also shows that this overall decline has slowed, but not ceased, since the 1990s; and that since 2011, overall trends appear to have stabilised, although a number of individual species continue to decline. The Government acknowledges these long-term range contractions for many species and the changes in distribution amongst different types of pollinators. In response to the overall reductions we developed a National Pollinator Strategy (NPS) for England, a 10-year plan published in 2014. A core commitment of the NPS is to strengthen the evidence base so that we can better meet pollinators’ needs. We will continue to work with CEH and other research partners, and to understand better the CEH paper’s analysis of trends in upland areas and in southern Britain, and their impact across the UK. As part of ongoing work to improve the evidence base, CEH coordinates the UK-wide Pollinator Monitoring Scheme, which is part-funded by Government. It is the only scheme in the world generating systematic data on the abundance of bees, hoverflies and other flower-visiting insects at a national level. Furthermore, in March 2019, Defra published up-to-date evidence statements on UK pollinators and pollination services, to which CEH and other leading institutions contributed. We know that pollinators add substantial economic value to crop production through improving crop quality and quantity. Pollination’s economic benefit to UK crop production is approximately half a billion GBP annually, through increased yields of oilseed rape, fruit and vegetables. These crops are especially vulnerable to pollinator declines. There is no clear evidence, however, that UK crop pollination is being impacted, although a study has identified sub-optimal pollination in gala apples for example. We are also working with researchers to understand better such potential risks of pollinator declines to food production and biodiversity, and to better inform land management approaches. For example, the University of Reading is leading a three-year Research Council-funded project on mapping and managing risks to pollinators across the UK, to help support sustainable and resilient crop production and maintain sufficient pollination services. The NPS also commits us to provide habitat for pollinators. Certainly, we have seen success when landowners, farmers, conservation groups and Government collaborate to create new habitats and support reintroductions of lost species such as the barberry carpet moth, short-haired bumblebee and chequered skipper butterfly. We will continue to work in partnership with scientists and with practitioners to build on such successes and to see many more of our wonderful, vital insects thrive.

Home Office

Brexit: Demonstrations

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people were arrested at the "Put it to the People" march on 23 March in London.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office does not centrally hold the information requested.The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of arrests for notifiable offences, on a financial year basis, broken down by Police Force Area. Detailed information on the location of the arrest, or on events associated with the arrest, are not collected.Data on the number of arrests are published in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin. The latest bulletin, covering the year to 31 March 2018, can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales

Slavery

baroness hamwee: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a person who has been referred to the National Referral Mechanism as a potential victim of trafficking or modern slavery can be removed from the UK while awaiting (1) a reasonable grounds decision, and (2) a conclusive grounds decision.

baroness williams of trafford: A person who has been referred to the National Referral Mechanism as a potential victim of trafficking or modern slavery cannot be removed while consideration is being given to whether there are reasonable grounds to believe they are a victim.If the reasonable grounds decision is positive, they cannot be removed during the period that further consideration is being given to whether there are conclusive grounds to believe they are a victim.

Human Trafficking

baroness hamwee: To ask Her Majesty's Government what training is provided to Immigration Removal Centre medical staff in completing rule 35 reports for victims of trafficking in immigration detention; and whetherthose staff are made aware of the impact of rule 35 reports in National Referral Mechanism decision-making.

baroness williams of trafford: Training is provided to staff, including healthcare staff, in immigration removal centres (IRCs) following changes made to the adults at risk in immigration detention policy (AAR) in July 2018. Trafficking is one of the indicators of risk set out in the AAR. This training included training on Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001.

Cycling: Road Traffic Offences

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will discuss with Police Chief Constables the proper enforcement of the law against cyclists particularly those who ride (1) through zebra crossings when pedestrians are on them, (2) through red traffic lights, (3) without lights at night, and (4) on pavements.

baroness williams of trafford: There are no plans to discuss the enforcement of cycling offences with Chief Constables. Enforcement of road traffic law is an operational matter for local Chief Constables in conjunction with their Police and Crime Commissioners.

Immigration: EU Nationals

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the EU Settlement Scheme will be fully operational from 29 March; whether there is a system to appeal decisions on applications to that scheme; and if so, how such appeals will be dealt with.

baroness williams of trafford: The EU Settlement Scheme opened to all EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members covered by the relevant draft withdrawal or separation agreements on 30 March. The scheme is also open to the family members of British citizens who were exercising their free movement rights under EU law before returning to the UK (‘Surinder Singh’ cases) and to those with a derivative right to reside (‘Chen’ and ‘Ibrahim and Teixeira’ cases) from 30 March. Applications can be made to the scheme from outside the UK from 9 April and the scheme will also open to those with a Zambrano right to reside (who are not covered by the draft withdrawal or separation agreements) from 1 May.If the draft Withdrawal Agreement is agreed, the Government will provide a right of appeal under the scheme through the Withdrawal Agreement Bill. If there is no deal, eligibility refusals under the scheme will continue to have a right to administrative review. All refusals will have a right to judicial review. Where a human rights claim is made outside the EU Settlement Scheme and that claim is refused, there is a right of appeal under existing legislation. This is in line with the remedies generally available to non-EEA nationals refused leave to remain in the UK. In either scenario, applicants will be able to reapply to the scheme free of charge if they do not agree with a decision.

British Nationals Abroad: Middle East

baroness berridge: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many British children have been repatriated from Syria or from territory that was formerly part of the sovereign states of Syria or Iraqin the last 12 months.

baroness williams of trafford: We can confirm that in the last 12 months there have been a small number of British children who have left Syria and returned to the UK via third countries.The Government does not have a consular presence within Syria from which to provide consular assistance. FCO Travel Advice advises against all travel to Syria, and that British Nationals should leave by any practical means. We will not put British officials’ lives at risk to assist those who have left the UK to join a proscribed terrorist organisation.If a British child who has been in Syria is able to seek consular assistance outside of Syria, then we would work with local and UK authorities to facilitate their return if requested.

Asylum: Religion

the lord bishop of gloucester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultation they have undertaken with religious communities to inform decision-making processes for asylum claims.

the lord bishop of gloucester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what processes they operate for monitoring and reviewing decisions on asylum claims.

baroness williams of trafford: Asylum decision-makers are expected to carefully consider protection needs following an interview by assessing all available evidence provided by the claimant in context of published country information, which covers issues relating to freedom of religion and belief. They receive extensive training on considering asylum claims, which covers religious claims, and must follow published Home Office policy guidance.We work closely with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, the Asylum Advocacy Group (AAG) and have engaged a range of faith groups to help us improve our approach to religious based claims. We value their support in helping us to improve policy guidance and training for caseworkers in this important and complex area.We have an internal audit process which assesses the quality of decisions, interviews and the application of Home Office policy. We have Senior Case Worker assessments as well as independent auditors from Central Operations who audit asylum cases and provide quarterly reports. The quality of asylum decisions is systematically assessed against a detailed audit framework drawn up in consultation with external partners, including the UNHCR, which includes checks on compliance with existing asylum polices, relevant case law and the appropriate country of origin information reports.

British Nationality: Electronic Government

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government under what powers they now require that specified nationality applications, including for registration of British citizenship, must be made online; and what representations they have received which question the introduction of such a requirement.

baroness williams of trafford: UK Visas and Immigration does not require specified nationality applications, including citizenship applications, to be made online. It is still possible for customers to apply on the paper forms if they need to do so. However, customers are encouraged to use the intuitive online application service wherever possible and assisted digital support is made available to those who would otherwise struggle to make an online application.

Asylum

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what considerationthey havegiven to amending the saving provisions in Part 3 of the Immigration, Nationality and Asylum (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 so that the cut-off date for take charge requests under the Dublin III regulation is based on the date that the connected asylum claim was made rather than the date that the request was received.

baroness williams of trafford: The saving provisions in Part 3 of the Immigration, Nationality and Asylum (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 sets out that, should the UK leave the EU with no deal, all Dublin III Regulations take charge requests relating to family reunification that were made before we exited the EU, but are still pending resolution, will continue to be considered under the existing provisions. This provides certainty for all those in the Dublin system that the UK will continue to process their claims to be transferred here to have their asylum claim assessed.Given that the UK will not be a part of the Dublin III Regulations following exit from the EU in the event that no deal is secured, we will need to rely on the cooperation of other Member States in order to fulfil this commitment. The UK cannot, through domestic law, create commitments for Member States in respect of individuals who are in their territories and who claim asylum.

Asylum

lord touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government what information an asylum seeker needs to provide in order to make an application for asylum.

baroness williams of trafford: In order for a claim for asylum to be registered, the claimant will need to express a fear of serious harm or persecution that means they cannot return to their own country.They will be asked to provide, if available, documentation regarding their identity, age, nationality, countries and place(s) of previous residence, previous asylum applications, travel routes and travel documents for both themselves and their dependants. Additional information and documentation that are relevant to the circumstances of the individual may be requested to assist in the decision making process.Further information on claiming asylum in the UK can be found at https://www.gov.uk/claim-asylum.

Asylum

lord touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their process for considering an application for asylum.

baroness williams of trafford: Asylum decision-makers carefully consider protection needs by assessing all available evidence provided by the claimant in the context of published country information.They receive extensive training on considering asylum claims and must follow published Home Office policy guidance. Protection is normally granted where a well-founded fear of persecution or serious harm in their country of origin is established.Those who are found not to need protection are refused but have a right of appeal to the independent courts. Once their appeals rights are exhausted they are required to leave the UK.

Asylum

lord touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government what data is collected and recorded from an asylum seekers' application for asylum.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office collects and records a broad range of personal and case specific information via electronic systems which varies on a case to case basis depending on which route the application takes. For example, we collect information to help establish identity, including biometrics.Other non-electronic information may also be collected and stored by teams and this would be extremely difficult to quantify. For example, information about the reasons why the applicant is claiming asylum could be a record of oral testimony, written statements or other documentary they wish to submit in support of their claim.

Asylum: Religion

lord touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 18 February (HL13432), whether they have plans to aggregate the number of people claiming asylum on the grounds of religious persecution.

baroness williams of trafford: The basis of a person’s asylum claim is recorded on their individual Home Office file, but not in a way that can be easily aggregated.We do not have any plans to aggregate the number of people claiming asylum on the grounds of religious persecution.

Detention Centres: Ministers of Religion

lord touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many chaplains of each faith there are in immigration removal centres.

lord touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 18 February (HL13421), how many detainees of each recorded faith are held in immigration removal centres.

baroness williams of trafford: The current faith breakdown of full and part time chaplains in the immigration removal estate is 15 Christian (all denominations), 10 Muslim, 5 Hindu, 5 Sikh, 2 Jewish, 2 Jehovah’s Witnesses and 2 Buddhists. Chaplains of other faiths are accessible to detainees across the estate on request.Information on detainees’ religious identification, where declared, is held by service providers on their own internal detainee management systems. Current data is available for the following IRCs; Brook House, Tinsley House, Yarl’s Wood and Morton Hall. This data shows that for those detainees who declared their religion, 233 identified as Christian (all denominations), 203 as Muslim, 83 as ‘other religion’, 33 as Buddhist, 29 as Sikh and 18 as Hindu. This is management information which has not been assured to the same standards as official statistics.

Treasury

Inheritance Tax: Siblings

lord lexden: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Bates on 21 March (HL Deb, col 1526), when the cross-departmental working party to consider the fiscal disadvantages experienced by sibling couples will be established; what will be its terms of reference; and when its report will be completed and published.

lord bates: The Government will consider the issue of siblings and inheritance tax through the Office of Tax Simplification’s review of inheritance tax. Their report is due to be published in spring, and their recommendations will be carefully considered.

British Nationals Abroad: EU Countries

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that a no-deal Brexit could have on possible delays experienced byBritish citizens at theborders of EU countries.

lord bates: The European Commission has indicated that member states will need to carry out more stringent checks on UK nationals arriving in the EU in a No Deal scenario. While the UK government cannot know how these checks will impact passengers, departments are working with relevant operators and airlines to prepare mitigations in the event of increased queues and delays.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Artificial Intelligence

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to implement a long-term strategy to address ethical issuesraised byartificial intelligence.

lord ashton of hyde: The government has set out its long term approach to the development of AI through the Industrial Strategy and AI Sector Deal. This includes the creation of three new bodies to ensure the safe, ethical and innovative use of AI - the new Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, an expert body that will advise government on the regulation of AI; the industry-led AI Council; and the government's Office for AI, responsible for taking forward the AI Sector Deal.The Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation will work closely with both the Office for AI and the AI Council to make sure the UK is a world leader on standards and ethics for AI and data.The government is also working closely with international partners to ensure that it is at the forefront of global debates about the ethical deployment of AI.

Social Media: Data Protection

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the possible future use of encrypted metadata mining by social media companies.

lord ashton of hyde: Social media companies that process metadata that contains personal or identifying information about individuals in the UK must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. The Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations 2003 also imposes certain restrictions on the processing of metadata.These rules impose strict obligations on organisations to process people’s data fairly and lawfully and to ensure that any data collected is held securely. Organisations must also ensure they have a legal basis for processing data, are clear and transparent about how personal data will be handled, and ensure that the data is processed in a way which individuals would expect. Organisations that fail to comply may be subject to enforcement action by the Information Commissioner’s Office.The Government has also recently set up the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation to provide independent and expert advice on the governance of data-driven technologies. One of the Centre’s first projects is to investigate how data is used to shape people’s online environments via the personalisation and targeting of messages, content and services. The Centre will publish an interim progress report on this project in the summer.

Cultural Heritage: Export Controls

viscount waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reviewthe Waverley Criteria for export controls on objects of cultural interest.

lord ashton of hyde: The Government has no such plans. The Waverley criteria continue to be the standard against which cultural objects, which are the subject of an export licence application, are judged to determine their national importance and whether an opportunity should be provided to retain them in the UK for the enjoyment of the public. The criteria continue to be held in high esteem.